Agility trial at the MN 08 national
Judi's Harry took the first bar down and then pulled it together and put in a very credible run. His teeter was a little on the yahoo side, but well within acceptable and having gotten the dropped bar out of the way, he opted to keep all of the rest of the bars up. Somebody evidently whispered in Mandy's Toby's ear that he was running in FAST, because that's what he did. Ran. Very FAST. Obstacles optional, but prime time enthusiasm and he actually checked in with Mandy on occasion. I'm sure the ladies will have their own interpretations of their runs, but I have this from an experienced OES agility person and evidently it's also on tape 
So, now that they got the zoomies out of the way, the standard classes should be coming up next. I'll keep you all posted. Kristine |
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| OK, the standard class just concluded.
Harry was doing fantastic up to the table, sat on the table  - then anticipated the table count and decided to continue on. Judi brought him back but by then he was too excited to sit so she ended up doing the right thing and continuing on. He strode over the downside on the dogwalk contact, but otherwise had a beautiful run. She should be very, very encouraged.
It appears that Toby has been handicapped by Mandy forgetting his height card (I have this second hand so she'll have to confirm) and that he measured up into a higher jump height than he's used to jumping which is too much pressure for most green dogs to suddenly face and he is wisely telling her "I don't think so, babe".  The fact that he is telling her this at speed is encouraging (again, her interpretation may vary  )
I have someone checking the catalog but from the sound of it one of the Nov A bitches from last year - co-bred by one of our forum members if I'm not mistaken - is back with a vengance and we may yet have an agility HIT and possibly High Scoring Nov A dog  I'll fill you in later. (In fact it sounds like the entire trial is Nov A dogs - we have another obedience/rally dog who has ventured into agility as well and is doing a beautiful job, just got a little too enthusiastic on the teeter)
Very exciting. The last class, jumpers coming up. Kristine |
| OK, last class (Jumpers with weaves) just ran.
I don't want to be unkind, but my personal spy has a message to Judi: he's not a sheltie! When he blasts past a jump and comes right back to you, please give him more than 12 inches to get back over the jump
His lovely enthusiasm has not gone unnoticed though and is very much admired, even though it did cost you a few knocked bars (I have the total, but I'm withholding that information just to see how many your undoubtedly vastly exaggerating account will escalate to, and keep in mind that Novice JWW has a max number of obstacles, so if it goes past a certain threshhold you'll lose all credibility )
By the way, unlike Standard and FAST, in JWW, I could HEAR you yelling commands at him and from the sound of it you were LATE (I know these sounds and the panic stricken voice as it sounds so much like my own when I forget to tell my poor dog what to do in time ) Don't worry. As the two of you become more of a team I won't be able to spy on you via phone any more
Further investigation appears to indicate there were no clean runs in standard, so no HIT or High Scoring Nov A dog this year, though don't take as the definitive on that issue. It takes so little to NQ (get a non-qualifying run) that sometimes if you blink, you miss it. But the general consensus is that quality is high and someone will be assigned to call Mandy ahead of time the next time she enters to make sure she packed Toby's height card!!! (and thanks for the reminder, they're much stricter about this than they used to be, but a - hm - shitty thing to happen at a national.  )
Overall assessment: quality of green dogs and handlers is very high and us old timers need to get off our duffs or they're going to blow by all of us in no time. Maybe they already have?
Very nice work. Proud of all of you. Kristine |
| Woo hoo!
It's almost like being there... |
| Great commentating Kristine!! I feel like I had a ringside seat. |
Mad Dog wrote: I don't want to be unkind, but my personal spy has a message to Judi: he's not a sheltie! When he blasts past a jump and comes right back to you, please give him more than 12 inches to get back over the jump
His lovely enthusiasm has not gone unnoticed though and is very much admired, even though it did cost you a few knocked bars (I have the total, but I'm withholding that information just to see how many your undoubtedly vastly exaggerating account will escalate to, and keep in mind that Novice JWW has a max number of obstacles, so if it goes past a certain threshhold you'll lose all credibility )By the way, unlike Standard and FAST, in JWW, I could HEAR you yelling commands at him and from the sound of it you were LATE (I know these sounds and the panic stricken voice as it sounds so much like my own when I forget to tell my poor dog what to do in time ) Don't worry. As the two of you become more of a team I won't be able to spy on you via phone any more Well I'M BACK! And therefore able to defend myself against the slander of the armchair attendee of the 2008 Nationals. Oh how brave you are from a distance. 
First of all regarding my "sheltie" - my goal is just to get him around the correct side of the jump and so I am less concerned about ACTUALLY getting him over the jump without losing the bar BUT in the CORRECT direction. Most importantly I have seen said dog many a time leap from a standing position right next to the jump straight up and over.  Like Sybil, nothing going on in his head is normal. So I will give myself the credit that your SPY is unable to give: Knowing my dog, recognizing during the walk through that particular jump was going to give me trouble given my limited but improving handling skills. The success in that particular area for this team is that he listens enough to go around the jump and take it in the correct direction.
No exagerating to the number of bars dropped - I heard it was only four - a personal best for us of late. I have very low expectations as he is having some timing issues. I am hoping my exceptional trainer will work this out for us. In defense of my realistic comments about our "hopes for qualifying" in JWW - I have turned around lately to see the damage on the course after running JWW only to see all but one bar on the ground. What may sound like panicked to you - is my version of calm. I would never have taken up this sport had anyone told me that you have to think and RUN alongside the dog. Obviously being no athlete and a dumb blonde to boot this is not easy for me. On top of it my teammate (using the term loosely here) has always had a mind of his own on the agility course. So whatever it takes to get him focused back on me - I will do. I was feeling pretty good about his run, my calmness in the ring and my ability to deal with the disappointment of months of hard work on a daily basis not quite paying off all while telling Harry how well he had done in the ring until I saw this through other people's eyes. 
I guess we needed the reality check in the glass half full department. |
| Oh Judy! I envy you for even going out there and trying! You and Harry make a great time, and I'm sure you did superb! Can you imagine what Oliver would have done? Nothing is what I'm thinking! |
SheepieMommy wrote: I was feeling pretty good about his run, my calmness in the ring and my ability to deal with the disappointment of months of hard work on a daily basis not quite paying off all while telling Harry how well he had done in the ring until I saw this through other people's eyes.
I guess we needed the reality check in the glass half full department. Yeow, Judi. She was teasing. Said spy has a dog very similar to Harry and does this to him all the time so she knows. Big-butted dogs need room. Because you can have run-bys in novice and even an occasional one in open, keep in mind that when you bring him back, give him enough room to clear the jump and you can still Q if all else goes well. The comment on being able to hear you is similarly, "oh, know how that feels". I was mighty surprised I wasn't able to hear you in the other classes. But the timing in JWW is so much more sensitive - no "time to think" obstacles, it's just run for your life. So we've all struggled to get the commands out fast enough. The fact that you got louder in that class made me laugh in a "been there, still do that" kind of way. If agility was easy, we had more teams doing it, you know? Besides, if you didn't do great, no one would be saying anything because there would be too much to comment on. Look how close you came to Qing in standard!!! I don't think the glass is half-full or half-empty, but rather you're 80% there, which means clean up those remaining things and you guys are ready to go. You should be darn proud. You should also be prepared to take constructive criticism and run with it. Sure, you can smack the person who tells you - it's all in good fun. (One of my instructirs actually gave me a t-shirt that says: "praise the dog, slap the handler!" Thanks!  ) But agility is all about taking every run, using it as feedback and figuring out what you did right and what you need to work on.
You'd never survive my current instructor who regularly comes up to my dog and APOLOGIZES to her for her rotten handler   But she's also the best thing that ever happened to me, agility-wise.
Yeah, it's humilating in a silly kind of way, but man has it made me work harder to not have my dog give me that contemptuous look that says" "I held up MY end of the bargain. Where the heck were YOU?" Get him a good jumping program - some of it is conditioning and his increasing excitement level, so he needs to be taught to jump smart and have the mental and physical stamina to hold it together over an extended period of time - look how well he kept the bars up! Four bars was nothing. When I first started running Mad Dog I had to pay the bar setters before each run so they wouldn't come after me with a pitch fork after the class
She didn't have a stay either. I could leave her in a down, lead out, and by the time I had reached where I needed to go, she'd crept up the first obstacle To get the stay means to at least half the time in the beginning go back to him and reward him for staying. I still have some issues with Sybil, though nowhere near as bad as her psychotic mom, and need to go back and remind her regularly. Actually, she's worse in obedience, where she's been known to belly crawl under the ring gating on the long down to get to her buddies on the other side So we need to work on that. No biggie.
Contacts - he needs a method because he's too big and too long strided to regularly hit the downside on the dogwalk and the "hail, Mary!" method Belle and I perfected (not!) isn't going to work for him. I know you've been working 2 on 2 off - I prefer the one rear toe method, but whatever works for you, just make sure he learns to stick it. After that and finishing up building his confidence on the weaves, you're going to start piling up titles. But you still better retain the ability to laugh at yourself, because agility being agility, every time you step up to the line it's going to be an adventure
Kristine |
| Thanks Jennie, it is nice of you to try to make me feel better.
I am just feeling a little deflated right now instead of being excited about all the fun great things he did do. My trainer is very encouraging and is constantly telling me to adjust my attitude to a "can do it" attitude. This may sound stupid but agility looks so fun and easy but can be really hard to do. I really know my dog and he has some big issues. OES do not think like other dogs but Harry takes it to a new level. He makes the easy things harder. The table for instance is his nemesis because he hates to SIT anywhere. I had to figure out on my own that I needed to make the SIT part of the TABLE command - and I need to constantly reinforce it. I could bore you with lots of details about what were the major fantastic accomplishments in his three runs but I won't. I'll leave that horrible task to my trainer (who gets paid to hear it) and cry on her shoulder that he could have had one qualifying run if he had just combined all the things he did right at some point in each run into just one of the runs. A BIG thank you to Val and Stephanie for doing their best to calm me down the night before (even though they think I am rude) and for sitting through a LONG cold morning and taking pictures. Also thanks to the spectators who came to watch - it really helps to have support. |
| Honey, you're going to hate me even more but I can tell you right now it's not Harry, it's not the breed, it's the handler. It's not personal in any way. It's just that it's always the handler. And as contrary to what that feels to you right now, you're going to thank me when it finally dawns on you that I was right - roughly three dogs from now (been there, done that).
That's GOOD news. That means that things are not beyond your control in any way, but rather that you have the power to make them the way you want them. I had two dogs with major table issues, one worse than the other, until I finally realized that it was my job to teach the dog to love the table, and it's not as hard as it sounds. (OK, I had an instructor who told me what I had done wrong in the past and how to make it right). I spend a lot of time leaving Sybil's class to go home to apologize to Belle and Mad. I even tell my instructor that and she laughs and tells me she still apologizes to her older dogs. Agility is an evolving sport and we and the dogs by extension get better for every generation. Call me up and cry on my shoulder this weekend if you're still speaking to me, but honestly, you guys are so close, I can smell it, feel it, occasionally even hear it But fix these things now before you (seriously) compete again, so they won't come back to haunt you.
I.e. save yourself some grief and learn from my mistakes. You can make your own. There's always new ones to be had.
Kristine |
| Being a newbie to this whole week has left me in AWE of all the great sheepies who try and try and try...and all the gREAT handlers who are fouced and intent on directing these performers to do the best they can.
I enjoyed seeing all the dogs tackling the aglitlity ring. Harry was excited and happy running, jumping climbing... He and Judi were a sight to behold!!!! I enjoyed it soooooo MUCH!!!!! |
| I hope I'm feeling love and disappointment here and not any anger....? |
Ron wrote: I hope I'm feeling love and disappointment here and not any anger....?
Can't you feel the love? Just kidding. Nationals was a great success for us just not in agility - the main reason we went. I think the disappointment was greater because we came really close to qualifying in the first run. Kristine gave me a chance to vent my frustration and some advice to keep me encouraged. |
sheepieshake wrote: Being a newbie to this whole week has left me in AWE of all the great sheepies who try and try and try...and all the gREAT handlers who are fouced and intent on directing these performers to do the best they can.
I enjoyed seeing all the dogs tackling the aglitlity ring. Harry was excited and happy running, jumping climbing... He and Judi were a sight to behold!!!! I enjoyed it soooooo MUCH!!!!! I so agree with Val. I am a newbie to this too - but I was in complete awe of everyone - all the incredible sheepie and their handlers - especially Judi. I know she puts her heart and soul into anything involving Harry - - I was very proud of the two of them. I had so much fun getting to watch agility. I wish Winston wasn't older otherwise I would have been inspiried to start agility with him. |
sneakysheepie wrote: I had so much fun getting to watch agility. I wish Winston wasn't older otherwise I would have been inspiried to start agility with him.
Stephanie - how old is he? I'm working on getting a 7 1/2 year old ready to compete a bit... Depends what your goals are. You do NOT need to start them as a puppy. I didn't even get Belle till she was almost three years old. Kristine |
Mad Dog wrote: sneakysheepie wrote: I had so much fun getting to watch agility. I wish Winston wasn't older otherwise I would have been inspiried to start agility with him. Stephanie - how old is he? I'm working on getting a 7 1/2 year old ready to compete a bit... Depends what your goals are. You do NOT need to start them as a puppy. I didn't even get Belle till she was almost three years old. Kristine He is seven - so maybe that isn't too old? One thing - He has had two TPLOs done - is that anything to worry about? Judi, Val & Dawn have convinced me I need to Rally - so I am going to try that. If you think I should continue to look at agility I will - I think my goal is just to give him something to do to have fun - |
sneakysheepie wrote: He is seven - so maybe that isn't too old? One thing - He has had two TPLOs done - is that anything to worry about? Judi, Val & Dawn have convinced me I need to Rally - so I am going to try that. If you think I should continue to look at agility I will -
I think my goal is just to give him something to do to have fun - Then stick with rally in his case. I bet he'll love it! (and congrats on his CGC!!) And plan on your next OES doing agility. In the mean time you and Winston can go to rally trials with Dawn and Chewie once he's ready to go. And with basic manners (CGC), it probably won't take much at all to get him ready. I'm so glad you got to attend the national. Twin Cities usually offers rally (and obedience) competition in June as part of their specialty. Just a thought...
Kristine |
| Hey Judy (and everyone else who competed) congradulations!!!!! If we were only interested in Qing we'd join the crowds and buy border collies (or shelties or whatever the hot new dog is this month)
We (I think I speak for most of us here) do this with the dogs we do because we love the breed and want to spend time with them. the point of agility is to build a better relationship. its not winning, or NQing or what ever - its to spend time and have fun with your dogs 
ribbons and titles are nice, in the long run its the handler/dog relationship that counts. SO bravo everyone, now what are you doing tomorrow that's fun? I think puppy and i are going swimming while Marley and Morgan spend the day dreaming of sheep |
| Congratulations to all Look forward to pictures of the dogs and the Party Animal photos as well.
Wish I could of been there to join in the pizza and grog night. |
kerry wrote: ribbons and titles are nice, in the long run its the handler/dog relationship that counts.
Kerry, i couldn't have said it any better! And that is for ALL events.... I have specialed 2 dogs now, Duncan and Delilah and with both of them it was about "my" time with each of them and growing closer to them and developing that 'special' relationship to where we moved together ! I was looking at Duncan's certificate/critique from Switzerland last week and that was what meant the most to me "dog and handler in perfect harmony"....... It doesn't matter what you do with your dog...... or what you get, just that you have that relationship! Now for Checkers & Calypso! |
| Hey...after we get some basic obedience done solid with Nigel I want to try Rally too. My obedience club has classes in Rally. If this boy would only stop pulling so we didn't always need a gentle leader. He is getting to be a good boy though...except when Bella winds him up. |
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